Fake cops arrested for duping elderly

A duo notorious for impersonating policemen and duping their victims of valuables and cash was nabbed yesterday. Though 56 such incidents have been reported in the city so far, this is the first case to have been solved. Nadar Irani and Shabbir Irani's reign ended after they struck at Kharadi in Vimanagar and made away with valuables and cash belonging to an elderly couple on September 27.

Vitthal Mozhe (60) and his wife were standing at a nirmalay when the fake cops approached them on a motorcycle claiming to be policemen. They told the couple that a murder had taken place nearby and that they should keep their jewellery and cash in a cloth for safekeeping. A short while after the duo left, Mozhe realised that the cloth was empty and immediately filed a complaint at the jurisdictional police station.

"Everything happened in the blink of an eye. We barely spoke to the two, after which they left. It was only about 15-20 minutes later we realised our jewelry and Rs 500 was missing. We immediately approached the police and lodged a complaint," Mozhe said.

The police rushed to the spot and questioned people in the vicinity, and were able to get the registration number of the motorcycle.The police said the duo might have hypnotised the elderly couple and got away with the loot. Senior Inspector Prakash Shah arrested Nadar and Shabbir in Srirampur near Satara and booked them for impersonating policemen and for robbery. The police also recovered valuables worth Rs 1 lakh and a motorcycle from the accused.